Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Enugu State Commissioner for Transportation, Obi Ozor, says the state government through his ministry plans to overhaul the system of transportation in the state through remodeling and digitalisation process.
He said this was to improve security and facilitate ease of doing business.
Speaking during his first press briefing in Enugu, Ozor said the development was in line with the programme of Gov. Peter Mbah administration’s resolve to modernise the means of transportation in the state.
He said that part of the goals of the administration was to make the state attractive to investors who will contribute to the $30 billion economy the governor had proposed, and also create jobs for the teeming youths.
He noted that essential to the heart of the transportation sector was security of lives and property of the people, adding that running a smart transportation system which would include having the biometrics of every vehicle operating in the state would help to prevent crimes and boost the confidence of the citizens.
“The monorails we have proposed, including fixing the railway lines will also provide a lot of job opportunities.
“Enugu State is the hub of the South-East economy; so, we need to deploy monorails to reduce the cost of transportation for the people of the state.
“This will also be used as a tool for regional integration of the South-East economy.
“The vision of the ministry is to bring multi-modal mode of transportation, digital integration across transportation and to generate a lot of revenue through this new infrastructure,” he said.
While fielding questions from newsmen on the area of revenue collection, the commissioner said the e-governance process which is “revenue assurance” usually called e-ticketing in some quarters was actually a way to guarantee that all the monies coming from transportation gets to the stakeholders involved in the management of the state.
“The system ensures that the unions and vehicle owners get their money; it also ensures that government also gets its fair share in order to reinvest it into the transportation system,” he said.
